Vincent Mayor Ray McAllister hopes to see the city secure a new bank to replace the community's sole financial institution that closed Aug. 16.

VINCENT, Alabama -- Vincent Mayor Ray McAllister is
hopeful the community will eventually have a new bank to replace the city's
only financial institution that closed on Aug. 16.

Speaking at the South Shelby Chamber of Commerce meeting today,
McAllister said the city's bank closure resulted from the Frontier Bank's financial
failure earlier this year. When HeritageBank of the South took over Frontier Bank,
the Vincent branch that had been in operation for 30 years was on the chopping
block, he said.

"When HeritageBank took them over, they basically said it
was one of the banks they were going to close," the mayor said.

McAllister said the municipality is actively trying to
recruit another financial institution to replace the shuttered one. "We are
diligently working to replace the bank. We have some prospects, hope they
develop," he said.

"But when you're dealing with the FDIC, it's a different
story. Everything goes in super-slow motion. Maybe by the end of the year we
will be able to announce we do have a new bank in Vincent," he said.